Kimo Speaks on Bogus Death Reports

Here it is: incontrovertible proof that Kimo Leopoldo is in fact alive and well.

On Tuesday, as you probably know by now, it was reported by numerous news outlets that Leopoldo had died of a heart attack, but after a few hours of the story exploding in cyberspace, it was eventually debunked by Yahoo writer Kevin Iole, who was able to confirm through Leopoldo's attorney that he was indeed was alive and well. Leopoldo appeared later that night at the Orange County Sheriff's Department to address the rumors.

The video after the jump comes from The Orange County Register, which notes in the accompanying article, "Many MMA Web sites and news organizations, including USA Today, the New York Daily News and TMZ.com, jumped in the ring, spreading news of Leopoldo's supposed death in Orange County."

The Register's writers and editors apparently have short memories, as they failed to note that they also ran the original rumor in a story headlined, "Ultimate fighter reportedly dies after court appearance." That story has since been removed from their Web site.

Many other reputable MMA news sites, including FanHouse, MMAJunkie and Yahoo, never published the initial rumors because they could not be substantiated. Even a relative of Kimo's that we spoke with was unsure of the truth for most of the day, unable to reach him.

At least an ugly day for the media's credibility results in a happy ending for the Leopoldo family.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-22-2009 @ 1:43AM

savsci said...

In all fairness to much of the MMA media, many of the reports I read--as well as the one I wrote on The Savage Science--included a good deal of context about the lack of confirmation from law enforcement or family members. The one that 'spread' the rumor as news was the NY Daily News. At last check the NY Daily news simply pulled the story and pretended it didn't happen.

7-22-2009 @ 9:24AM

Adrian M. Brown said...

Can Kimo bring Elvis too? I love a good throwdown to 'Teddy Bear'.

7-22-2009 @ 11:09AM

bigfootbw said...

Elvis is too busy beating the crap out of Michael Jackson for marrying his daughter.

7-22-2009 @ 10:26AM

Paul Ortega said...

Glad to see Kimo alive, sad to see how beat he is.

7-22-2009 @ 10:36AM

earsstinks said...

Yawn,now I can sleep !

7-22-2009 @ 10:46AM

terryrg1 said...

WHOS KIMO ?

GMFEDOR said...

HE SOUNDS BRAIN DEAD TO ME.

7-22-2009 @ 10:50AM

vencor said...

Who the Fu** is Kimo??

7-22-2009 @ 11:38AM

Adam said...

He can deny it all he wants - but that doesn't mean it isn't true.

It's just a joke - calm down.

7-22-2009 @ 12:47PM

runnit668 said...

Always wondered what happened to Kimo. I remember when he came on to the MMA scene and gave the Gracies a run for their money.

7-22-2009 @ 1:34PM

brakshere said...

Stupid headline. He wouldn't deny it if it were true. I had to click the story just to see if your follow-up was "but we're still not sure".

7-22-2009 @ 1:36PM

Tiocfaidh Ar La said...

I realy dont care whether he is here or not...To re-state a comment by a earlier post YAWN !!! I AM GOING TO GO BACK TO SLEEP.!!! Wooptie fecking doo !!!!

7-22-2009 @ 3:11PM

RJ said...

That's why you took the time to post right?
Too show how much you don't care.
Do yourself a favor don't post anything at all. That's a true signal you couldn't care less.

7-22-2009 @ 5:08PM

Sally said...

Thank god..........glad to see your o.k......please, I don't know if your on drugs or not, but let this be your wake up call....if you are, then cut it out, you don't need drugs to fight......we want to see you fight again........you still look exactly the same......

7-22-2009 @ 6:34PM

dfdgfhg said...

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